Celebrating a sage king, a celebration of India-Bhutan ties

The former King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, turns 70 on November 11, 2025. The father of the present King of Bhutan is popularly generally known as K4 (the fourth King of the Wangchuck line), whereas his son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who sits on the throne at current, is known as K5.

Jigme Singye Wangchuk is held in nice esteem, awe, delight and reverence by his individuals who typically name him the Bodhisattva King. He dominated Bhutan from the age of 17 years until he abdicated in 2006 in favour of his son.

He is revered nearly like a Buddha as a result of he dominated properly, actually and actually dragged Bhutan into the twenty first century, modernising it in some ways. Now, to mark his seventieth delivery anniversary, there’s a enormous celebration in Thimphu on November 11, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting India’s mountainous neighbour.

Two nations, their shut ties

Mr. Modi has at all times given a lot significance to India’s relationship with Bhutan. In 2014, on being elected Prime Minister, he had not merely spoken about Neighbourhood First however had additionally made Bhutan the primary overseas nation he visited. Now too, Mr. Modi realises the great significance that the birthday celebrations has for the individuals of Bhutan and is making certain that he’s with them on this time of pleasure. His go to is an apt sign of how shut the individuals of India are to the individuals of Bhutan.

It was K4 who additional strengthened Bhutan’s relationship with India, throughout his reign as king, exhibiting nice understanding that unbiased India was an in depth pal of his nation for which all threats to its independence, sovereignty or lifestyle got here from its north and never from the opposite course. It was Jigme Singye Wangchuck who bought India’s Border Roads Organisation to construct, function and preserve the highway community of his nation. Today, Bhutanese companies are able to doing this on their very own and have rightly been tasked with this. Again, it was Jigme Singye Wangchuck who noticed the potential of producing electrical energy from Bhutan’s rivers and supplying it to India, thereby enabling a gentle income stream for his nation, which in flip has lifted incomes there.

Hydropower diplomacy

Hydropower cooperation between India and Bhutan has, over time, developed into one of many strongest and most important pillars of the connection between the 2 international locations. Therefore, it’s apt, symbolic of this friendship and vital in itself, that the Punatsangchhu II hydroelectric venture might be formally inaugurated by Mr. Modi and K5 throughout the journey. The 1,020 MW venture has been producing electrical energy for some months now, serving to Bhutan in additional elevating its financial profile.

The Punatsangchhu II venture, like lots of its predecessors, was constructed as a cooperative enterprise between the Government of India and the Royal Government of Bhutan, with India offering the preliminary capital for it — that is paid off by the venture from the revenue stream generated by the sale of electrical energy to India at charges that are aggressive however adjusted each few years to mirror present realities.

This mannequin has labored nicely until now but it surely has been determined that in future, the 2 international locations should faucet different sources of capital for such hydropower tasks. Now that personal capital is available in enough amount, future tasks are to be achieved by non-public companies of India in collaboration with Bhutanese firms. Significantly, Tata Power and Adani Power have readily taken up just a few of the tasks on provide in Bhutan.

India continues to offer improvement help to Bhutan past hydropower whether or not it’s for group improvement tasks or bigger schemes that vary from infrastructure improvement to upgrading older establishments and even monasteries.

Issues of nationwide safety

K5 continues to hunt his father’s — K4’s — recommendation on issues of nationwide safety. Whether it pertains to the territorial integrity of Bhutan or to the operational readiness of the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA), K4 is at all times consulted by his son. K4 has a deep understanding of not merely India and the way its democracy capabilities but in addition about Communist China, what motivates and drives that nation and the implications it has for Bhutan-China relations.

India will at all times be grateful to K4 for having personally led Operation All Clear in December 2003 the place the RBA drove out a number of hundred cadres of Indian rebel teams that had taken shelter within the jungles of Bhutan simply throughout Assam and West Bengal. On India’s aspect of the border, the Indian Army was capable of simply arrest these Indian rebel teams and proceed towards them as within the regulation.

Thus, November 11 isn’t merely the birthday celebration of a sage and clever former King of Bhutan. Mr. Modi’s presence at these occasions in Thimphu additionally makes it a celebration of India-Bhutan friendship and cooperation.

Gautam Bambawale is a former Indian Ambassador to Bhutan and is at present Trustee of the Pune International Centre